(May 4, 2009 Stillwater, OK) – When the Class of 2010 came to the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, each student received a plain white coat. As the end of their third year of classroom study drew to a close, the veterinary students turned in that plain white coat for an upgrade, which they received recently during the Transition Ceremony.

To mark the successful completion of the preclinical portion of their veterinary medical education, the Class of 2010 received their clinical white coats that bear their name, the Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association insignia, and the OSU Center for Veterinary Health Sciences insignia. Students will wear these coats as they complete the clinical phase of the OSU veterinary medical curriculum at the Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital where they will hone their clinical skills and receive hands-on training.



“This is an exciting time for our veterinary students,” explains Dr. Charles MacAllister, head of the Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department. “It is here that the students begin to put into practice the information they have spent the last three years learning. Now they get to apply that knowledge they have gained to real, live animal cases.”

Each patient that is treated at the veterinary teaching hospital is assigned a fourth year veterinary student, a faculty member and often a resident or intern.

The Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences is one of 28 veterinary colleges in the United States and is fully accredited by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The center’s Boren Veterinary Medial Teaching Hospital is open to the public and provides routine and specialized care for small and large animals. It also offers 24 hour emergency care and is certified by the American Animal Hospital Association. For more information, visit www.cvhs.okstate.edu or call (405) 744-7000.

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